Energy drinks may boost booze consumption, aftereffects

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - College students who consume
energy drinks tend to drink more alcohol and having both in the
same day may lead to more negative consequences, a new study
says.

Combining heavily caffeinated energy drinks and alcohol is a
trend, especially among college students. In fact, about half
of energy drink users admit to combining them with alcohol while
partying.

Mixing alcohol and energy drinks is a serious public health
concern when compared to drinking alcohol alone. The FDA banned
the sale of premixed alcoholic energy drinks such as Four Loco,
saying they're unsafe, but it's easy for college kids to just
mix their own.

"We were interested in how using energy drinks affects
alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences," Megan Patrick
told Reuters Health by email.

Patrick is a research assistant professor at the Institute
for Social Research at the University of Michigan. She is
co-author of the new study, which was published in the Journal
of Adolescent Health.

"We wanted to compare days college students used both energy
drinks and alcohol to days they used only alcohol," Patrick
said.

Specifically, the researchers wanted to learn more about the
level of alcohol use, whether or not the students thought they
were drunk and what consequences occurred on the days when
energy drinks and alcohol were both consumed.

The researchers used information from the University Life
Study that took place at Penn State University.

Starting with the first semester of college, 744 university
students completed surveys for each of seven semesters, plus
daily surveys. Data on alcohol and energy drink use was
available from spring of the students' sophomore year (spring
2009) to fall of their senior year (fall 2010).

Students were asked about energy drink consumption with and
without alcohol. They were asked the number of alcoholic drinks
they drank the day before, what time they started drinking, when
they stopped and if they got drunk.

The researchers also used gender, body weight and length of
drinking time to calculate blood alcohol levels.

The consequences of alcohol use were determined by yes or no
responses to each of 10 negative consequences, including such
things as having a hangover or getting into trouble.

Just over 80 percent of students drank alcohol, and 51
percent consumed at least one energy drink during the study.
Thirty percent admitted to using energy drinks and alcohol on
the same day at least one time.

Men consumed a greater number of drinks but also spent more
hours drinking than women. Students who consumed more energy
drinks also consumed a greater number of alcoholic drinks, and
had a trend toward spending more time drinking.

They also reached higher peak blood alcohol levels when they
combined alcohol and energy drinks compared with days they only
drank alcohol.

Students were also more likely to report getting drunk and
having more negative consequences on the days they also consumed
energy drinks.

The researchers also wanted to see if energy drinks were
related to negative consequences independent of the amount of
alcohol consumed. When they adjusted for blood alcohol levels,
they found that energy drink use was no longer associated with
students' feeling of being drunk, but it was still linked to a
greater number of negative consequences.

"We found that college students tended to drink more
heavily, become more intoxicated, and have more negative
drinking consequences on days they used both energy drinks and
alcohol, compared to days they only used alcohol," Patrick said.

"It's important for consumers to be aware the mixing energy
drinks with alcohol, even on the same day, may lead to more
serious alcohol-related consequences," Patrick said.

People who consume energy drinks and alcohol are combining
the stimulant effects of caffeine and the depressant effects of
alcohol, which can make them feel less drunk, when they are
actually just as impaired, Patrick said

"This can have serious potential health impacts, for example
if people don't realize how intoxicated they actually are and
decide to drive home," she said.

The study doesn't prove that drinking caffeinated beverages
causes young adults to drink more alcohol and suffer more
consequences. It's possible that people who consume more energy
drinks are bigger risk takers.

"It appears that the consumption of caffeinated alcoholic
beverages has a direct effect on increasing risk by masking
intoxication and making it easier for youth to consume more
alcohol. It also appears that consumption of alcohol with
caffeine may itself be a marker for youth who engage in riskier
behavior," Dr. Michael Siegel told Reuters Health in an email.

Siegel is a professor in the Department of Community Health
Sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health. He
was not involved in the new study, but he published a similar
study last month in the journal Addictive Behavior.

Siegel's team also found that drinking caffeinated alcoholic
beverages was associated with a riskier drinking profile and a
higher probability of negative alcohol-related consequences.

"More research is needed to help elucidate the mechanisms by
which the consumption of caffeinated alcoholic beverages lead to
increased risk of adverse consequences. But based on the current
evidence, it seems prudent for parents to warn their teenagers
about the risks of consuming alcohol mixed with caffeinated
beverages," he said.